After several accidents, the Pioneer Zephyr was modified in the 1940s to add a double "Twin Headlight" assembly above the nose, and the rear observation car.

The second headlight on the nose was an early version of the "Mars" light. A bright oscillating light enabled motorists to see the approaching train from a greater distance.

Our version of the "Twin Headlight" Zephyr will use a flashing LED that will operate in both DC and DCC mode to simulate this safety feature. The Pioneer Zephyr retained this "twin headlight" until its final run on March 20th, 1960.

When running on Analog "DC" the front headlight will simulate a Mars light function as long as the Train is moving forward. When converted to DCC mode by swapping out the factory mounted PCB board plugged into the NMRA 10 pin socket with a Con-Cor DCC decoder, you can program the P-3 connection to vary the Intensity and duration of the blinking to suit your own taste, by changing the CV settings. (CV 113, Value 34 suggested). If you choose to use a DCC sound decoder other than the Con-Cor, please double check with your decoder manufacturer to make sure these settings for operating the Mars Light in DCC mode will be appropriate for the brand and model Number of the decoder you will be using.

By this time the Original Pioneer Zephyr had many additional sisters in service on the Burlington system, and the tail end observation car had the name "Pioneer Zephyr" name applied onto it. Our "Twin Headlight" Zephyr will also have this name applied to the rear of the Train.

Features
Working "Mars Light" in both "DC" mode or "DCC" mode
Fully Assembled and Ready to Run 3 Car Train
Historic Paint and lettering
Metal Die Cast weighting
Metal RP-25 wheelsets
Interiors in #2 and #3 cars (lst car has loco drive mechanism)
All cars lighted
Fourth "add-on" car available to make your train longer. (You can add more than one of these extra cars if you so choose).
"DCC" ready with Industry Standard NMRA 8 Pin Medium Socket set mounted on Locomotive Printed Circuit Board (PCB)